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We had 1 first down the entire 2nd half until we were down 34-3 in the 4th qtr...then Dabo completely emptied his bench on defense with about 6 min on the clock...that's when we had our one TD drive vs their 2nd and 3rd string guys.

Can't say we figured out anything vs the Taters...although I did have a lot more room around me at my seat in W-B.

We had 1 first down the entire 2nd half until we were down 34-3 in the 4th qtr...then Dabo completely emptied his bench on defense with about 6 min on the clock...that's when we had our one TD drive vs their 2nd and 3rd string guys.

Can't say we figured out anything vs the Taters...although I did have a lot more room around me at my seat in W-B.

GO COCKS!!

I would say we figured it out. Just give Clemson's first string food poisoning and then we'll score at will the whole game. Easy.

Michigan giving us the ball on turnovers 5 times in the second half was a bigger factor in that
comeback than was Daddy's or the OC's play calling. Sorry to rain on the parade but when
you don't turn the ball over and dominate one half, then give your opponent the ball five times
on turnovers in the second half and the bulk of them on your opponent's side of the 50 .........
you're bound to give up lot of points. Kudos for us cashing in on the opportunities though.

While I agree in most part, football is a team sport and our team won that game. Turnovers don't mean squat if you can't take advantage of them and score. They can also be meaningless if all you can do is kick field goals unless you are in a hard fought defensive dominating game. High powered offenses are great unless you have a defense that can't stop wind just like a great defense can hold every opponent to under 20 and still lose with an inept offense.

So yes, we most likely don't beat Michigan without those turnovers and the defense shutting their offense down in the second half. But it also took game time changes in offense to make the most of them and get the ball into the end zone.

Keep in mind that McClendon could only do so much tweaking to the offense in just 3 weeks of bowl practice. I personally am on a wait and see position when it comes to McClendon as OC but after seeing the second half adjustments to the offense and the addition of Dan Werner I am optimistic.

Give Coach Boom and his staff a break. SOS and his staff left nothing for them to work with at all.
I personally feel like the current staff has done a fantastic job correcting the mistake made by SOS and company.
Four years ago, we could not hold a double digit lead in the fourth quarter.
Our defense three years ago could not stop Citadel.
Are we a good SEC defense yet? NO! But we are headed in the right direction.
Are we a good SEC offense yet? NO! But once again we are headed in the right direction.
Rome was not built in a day. Clemson did not build their team in a day. Does anyone not remember that SOS beat Dabo 5 years in a row.
Give this current staff a couple of more years. We will spank that TIGGER a$$.

Yeah, even with the gifts, you still have to score. And UM is still the #3 Defense in the land.

There are big plays available, even against top Defenses. We seemed to figure it out late against Clemson and a little earlier against UM.

With better playcalling and improved QB play, maybe we can find some of those big plays earlier.

Not wanting to get into the dead horse debate because it's over now, but I've become more of
a realist over the past few years by listening to , and reading people's opinions
on why the program went south as fast as it did, or why the re-tooling isn't
going as rapidly as they think it should.
I wasn't happy with a lot of direction (or lack of it) from Roper, and I certainly
wasn't one who demanded that we keep him on the staff. He made some Odd
and Confusing calls at times, or seemed to stick too long with a gameplan that
obviously wasn't clicking at the beginning of some of the games..... HOWEVER,
Being the Realist I am, I place more of the blame on Jake Bentley and some
of the poor play of the Wide Receivers than I do Roper. I think if most people
would take off the blinders and take a look at each and every game we played
(start to finish) this past season, the bad decisions, poor throws and wrong
or incorrect routes run by Jake and the WRs are the major part of our poor
offensive showing than was Roper's play calling or game plans. There were WAY
TOO MANY times when the right play was called, at the right time against the
right matchup, and Jake overthrew, underthrew or didn't see the open receiver
at all. Those by far outweighed the poor calls or ridiculous approach to a defense
that Roper was responsible for.
Roper's time had come no doubt. .... I'm not comfortable personally with the
way he was replaced and who he was replaced with, but it's etched in stone at
this point and there's nothing to do but wait and see how it pans out and hope
like hell I am wrong in feeling "uncomfortable" about the new OC.
I do think that hiring Warner was a Huge Get for the program, and I think his
addition to the staff will help Jake's mechanical and mental issues, and decision
making. .... That "should" allow for some improvements for the offense, but
it still remains to be seen whether a coach with no OC experience can install and
develop a scheme or improvement in the offensive approach to the game.
Fingers are crossed that it will be an upgrade ..... I fear it isn't though.

Bentley shows flashes of being great, but these are outweighed frequently by poor decisions. He's had a big game or two, but has also been the beneficiary of a down SEC east. And there's our QB history. USC fans are so desperate for a professional quality QB that we're looking to tag whoever the starter is with that hope.

In regards to Roper, he may have had the right play called at times, but it was also his responsibility to look at film and the gameday results and fix it with Bentley. He never did.

I will say that we are moving in the right direction but we need to also be more careful with what our successes and failures can be attributed to.

To that end, Spurticus is right about the offense in the bowl game-the turnover battle had 70% of the reason behind the comeback and our ability to do some things we might not have done starting inside our own 20 yard line. The defense played fantastically all game and gave the offense two of those great opportunities. Credit the offense for scoring those touchdowns but overall can we really say the offense was improved based on those two halves? (I think BMAC called a much better game in the second half by being aggressive and stretching the field vertically with the pass and laterally with the run).

__________________

Quote:

Muschamp said he doesn't have a 3 year or 5 year plan, his plan is to win now and decisions will be based on winning now.

Muschamp believes that recruiting within a five-hour radius of USC, "we can recruit good enough players to win the East every year."

Michigan giving us the ball on turnovers 5 times in the second half was a bigger factor in that
comeback than was Daddy's or the OC's play calling. Sorry to rain on the parade but when
you don't turn the ball over and dominate one half, then give your opponent the ball five times
on turnovers in the second half and the bulk of them on your opponent's side of the 50 .........
you're bound to give up lot of points. Kudos for us cashing in on the opportunities though.

I will say that we are moving in the right direction but we need to also be more careful with what our successes and failures can be attributed to.

To that end, Spurticus is right about the offense in the bowl game-the turnover battle had 70% of the reason behind the comeback and our ability to do some things we might not have done starting inside our own 20 yard line. The defense played fantastically all game and gave the offense two of those great opportunities. Credit the offense for scoring those touchdowns but overall can we really say the offense was improved based on those two halves? (I think BMAC called a much better game in the second half by being aggressive and stretching the field vertically with the pass and laterally with the run).

You would be foolish to make a claim like that based on 1 game. What you can say is the offense did things in that game it hasn't done at all since Muschamp (Roper) had been here. The first td drive started on our own 23 yard line and only 1 td came from inside the red zone. They had 3 times they were set up in SC territory from turnovers and 2 of SC's were either in or at the um endzone. This turnover talk is getting carried away. Defense played great but this thought that they are the only reason the offense played well is laughable. It is okay to give the offense some credit for playing the way they did in the 2nd half

!!!!! Blaming Jake for all the bad decisions .If he is making over throws ,under throws ,bad decisions on the field WHY was he not snatched off and put to riding the pines? Ill tell you why , our backup QB was even worse. Who is at fault now.Poor arse recuriting ? position coach ? maybe play caller ? Head coach ? HELLO no its the QBs . I have to agree with one thing some are wearing blinders top that off with the fact they cant see past the end of their own nose. How many times did Jake get his clock cleaned ,how many times was he decked before he could take a twostep ? The people posting this know how this works ,if you put a player on the field thats not SEC ready its not the kids fault

I agree that Jake did not play well at times - his two games against Clemson are the biggest reason for the blow-outs. In a game and a half, the Offense under Bentley has netted 3 points. And he disappeared in other games as well.

But it is also the responsibility of the coaches to develop Jake and to call good plays that have a chance to work. The runs up the middle and other conservative play calls that lack creativity make me shake my head. If BMac can fix the playcalling and Werner can help Bentley with the mental part, I will be happy. If we can get a Top 50 Offense - and we should be able to get there with our talent - we can be a Top 10 team.

Jake seems to be really streaky. When he is off, he is way off, but then, when he is on, he really can sling the rock.

I hope that we see play calling that let's him not have to make a ton of pre-snap adjustments for both the play call and the protections as well as post-snap reads and check downs and just let's him do what he is good at.

I know there are a few sports psychologists that work with the team, some time with them might help as well.

Jake seems to be really streaky. When he is off, he is way off, but then, when he is on, he really can sling the rock.

I hope that we see play calling that let's him not have to make a ton of pre-snap adjustments for both the play call and the protections as well as post-snap reads and check downs and just let's him do what he is good at.

I know there are a few sports psychologists that work with the team, some time with them might help as well.

Jake has all the talent in the world, but what he didn’t have was a QB coach that could instill confidence in him. I think that problem may be solved now, we’ll see how that pans out. I still say Debo’s loss hurt us more than anyone seems to think. He was the best player on offense, maybe the whole team. A team in transition like Carolina had a hard time trying to overcome that kind of loss and struggled to do so.

Jake has all the talent in the world, but what he didn’t have was a QB coach that could instill confidence in him. I think that problem may be solved now, we’ll see how that pans out. I still say Debo’s loss hurt us more than anyone seems to think. He was the best player on offense, maybe the whole team. A team in transition like Carolina had a hard time trying to overcome that kind of loss and struggled to do so.

So who was responsible for those "streaks" of great play from Jake, many of which were later in the
game when the team was struggling and he made plays that he wasn't making early? There were
a few times when Jake's play pretty much won games that we were on the way to losing. He had
plenty of confidence on those drives. He had the same QB coach when he was sitting on the bench
for half of his Freshman year and learning the offense on the practice field, and the same QB coach
when he took over the team at the halfway point of 2016 and was consistently GOOD at running
the offense, finding open WRs / RBs and making plays with his legs when he had to. During that
half season, he had plenty of confidence in his ability to run the offense and it was with the same
coach and staff as the one he had in 2017.
As stated earlier, it was time to drop Roper and look for an upgrade for that job, but he was not
the problem with Jake's lack of production or indecision through the 2017 season. Jake and already
proven he had confidence and ability to run the same offense in 2017 that he executed well in
2016. Whatever caused the issues with Jake this past season was not a lack of skill or talent.
His problem was mental or something as simple as a mechanical flaw that he picked up in the off
season between 2016 and 2017. My OPINION is that it was mental and if that's the case, then
the best QB coach in the country won't eliminate that problem in a few weeks while the season
is underway and the bulk of Jake's time was spent working on the gameplan on the practice field
and in the film room. I agree that Roper was not the OC or QB coach that this team needed to
get us back to relivence in the Eastern Conf. Race, but he was not the problem with Jake's problems
and inconsistencies during 2017 season.

I agree that Roper was not the OC or QB coach that this team needed to get us back to relivence in the Eastern Conf. Race, but he was not the problem with Jake's problems and inconsistencies during 2017 season.

While I agree with most of your assessment on the Roper-Bentley era...here is where I put the blame for the inconsistent QB performance square on Roper:

1) Roper's scripted 10-15 plays...how many times in the 1st or 2nd drives of seemingly every game did we see Bentley overthrow a wheel route?? I don't care if Jake was perfect in practice on that throw...after 3-4 times of squandering an early TD throw...Roper needed to completely scrap that call during the early stages of a game.

2) Roper never seemed to give Jake some easy throws to calm him down & get in a rhythm...this includes Roper's lack of using the RBs in the early stages of games. I can hardly remember a 1st or 2nd down call early in a game when a RB screen pass was called (especially after losing Deebo)...Williams & Turner are pretty good when they get outside the tackles...yet Roper had Jake firing bullets downfield early & often...add in Jake's adrenaline sky high coming out of the tunnel...and you saw 1st down incomplete throws, 2nd down run right up the middle for 1 yard, then 3rd & long...basically A LOT of early 3 & outs...smh.

An inept Roper NOT adjusting to his QB's tendencies early in games + Bentley's early in-game inconsistency as the year went on = Gamecocks wasting early possessions & having to dig themselves out of lot of deficits.

Not wanting to get into the dead horse debate because it's over now, but I've become more of
a realist over the past few years by listening to , and reading people's opinions
on why the program went south as fast as it did, or why the re-tooling isn't
going as rapidly as they think it should.
I wasn't happy with a lot of direction (or lack of it) from Roper, and I certainly
wasn't one who demanded that we keep him on the staff. He made some Odd
and Confusing calls at times, or seemed to stick too long with a gameplan that
obviously wasn't clicking at the beginning of some of the games..... HOWEVER,
Being the Realist I am, I place more of the blame on Jake Bentley and some
of the poor play of the Wide Receivers than I do Roper. I think if most people
would take off the blinders and take a look at each and every game we played
(start to finish) this past season, the bad decisions, poor throws and wrong
or incorrect routes run by Jake and the WRs are the major part of our poor
offensive showing than was Roper's play calling or game plans. There were WAY
TOO MANY times when the right play was called, at the right time against the
right matchup, and Jake overthrew, underthrew or didn't see the open receiver
at all. Those by far outweighed the poor calls or ridiculous approach to a defense
that Roper was responsible for.
Roper's time had come no doubt. .... I'm not comfortable personally with the
way he was replaced and who he was replaced with, but it's etched in stone at
this point and there's nothing to do but wait and see how it pans out and hope
like hell I am wrong in feeling "uncomfortable" about the new OC.
I do think that hiring Warner was a Huge Get for the program, and I think his
addition to the staff will help Jake's mechanical and mental issues, and decision
making. .... That "should" allow for some improvements for the offense, but
it still remains to be seen whether a coach with no OC experience can install and
develop a scheme or improvement in the offensive approach to the game.
Fingers are crossed that it will be an upgrade ..... I fear it isn't though.

I agree that the offense poor showing at times had much to do with Jake's poor play, particularly early in games. He seems to get too nervous early in games causing him to hold the ball too long or overthrow receivers. The plays were there. If Jake had hit a few, we would have been cooking. The pic 6 he threw against Clemson was all on him. That said, I think a new OC and QB coach will help Jake. I am curious to see what he does. The Outback Bowl was so ugly in the first half I was dead set against BMac getting the job. We hit some big plays to score TDs. But we got the ball on 15 yard line late in the game on the muffed punt with a chance to put the game away. We went backwards until Jake gained some yards on 3rd down on a QB draw. The playcalling there left something to be desired. Anyway, my friends at Ole Miss think Werner should be the OC anyway. maybe BMac and Werner together will get this straightened out. We will see. But if Jake doesn't play better, it won't matter.